NDP says SHA not collecting data specifically on Black mental health 'doesn't make sense'

The Saskatchewan NDP says the government's plan to create culturally responsive mental healthcare doesn't make sense if the province isn't collecting data on specific communities.

Earlier this year, experts told CBC News they wanted to see the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) collect mental health data on Black communities to improve services.

The calls came even before Samwel Uko a Black man who was twice turned away from the Regina General Hospital while seeking help for a mental health breakdown was found dead from an apparent suicide in Wascana Lake in May.

Warning: This video may be disturbing to some viewers

Video shows Samwel Uko being removed from Regina General Hospital

4 years ago

Duration 0:31

Samwel Uko sought help twice on the day of his death. Uko was removed by security from the Regina General Hospital.

On Thursday, when publicly apologizing for its role in Uko's death, the SHA said it would not collect mental health data on Black or other racial communities.

"We are looking at mental health data collection and how it can help inform the services we provide," SHA CEO Scott Livingstone said, adding the organization is looking to tailor its services in a culturally responsive way to each person it serves.

Opposition NDP Leader Ryan Meili said trying to move forward with a culturally responsive approach without collecting specific mental health data on Black communities "doesn't make sense."

"If you don't track what people are experiencing and offer care that's responsive to those needs, then you can say you're being culturally responsive, but you just aren't," Meili said.

Mental health and mental health care, he said, are so tied to people's personal experiences of culture and belonging in society that they cannot be separated.

The province dedicated $435 millionin this year's budgetto mental health and addictions.

During Thursday's apology, the SHA said it had learned from its conversations with the Uko family thatit needed to ensure staff were trained and educated to be responsive to specific cultural needs.

"I think that connects very clearly with the type of training and the cultural responsiveness training that was being provided, because it opens up the understanding and the opportunity for dialogue and to create that understanding which then will help deliver culturally responsive care," John Ash, executive director of acute care for Regina, said.